Eggs Over Easy
by cherrymfzb
Summary: Sometimes people find friends in the most unexpected places. It's a Naley.
1. Prologue

**Authors Note: So I haven't finished my untitled story yet but this came into my head today and I had to get it out. It's a Naley. Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

Prologue

He didn't know what was wrong, all he knew was he had to get out. He111 picked up his car keys and walked out the door. He started to drive around aimlessly not caring where he went. He did this a lot when he needed to clear his head, got in his car and drove. He drove around a part of town he'd never been to before. That's when he noticed the small diner tucked in between two buildings. The fluorescent lights were on telling the public they were open 24 hours.

No cars were in the parking lot. For some reason he felt the need to go in. He parked his car and walked inside. Inside it looked like any other 24-hour diner, booths, counter, jukebox, the whole shebang. He couldn't see anyone so he sat down at the counter to wait. Right after he sat down a girl came running out of the back. She stopped abruptly when she saw him sitting there and shyly brushed the hair out of her eyes. She grabbed a menu and silverware and came and stood in front of him.

"Hi. How're you tonight?" She asked with a bright smile as she handed him the menu. He read the name of the diner "Oven Fresh". Cute, he thought

"I've been better," he replied. He began to browse through the menu. 1 "Haven't we all. Can I get you something to drink? Though if I do say so myself I make one awesome chocolate milk shake." She flashed him another smile.

"Alright. I'll have one of those."

"Super. I'll go get that for you." He watched her run towards the back then come back out with ice cream. She walked by him and flashed him a smile as she walked towards the blender. She scooped out some ice cream dumped it in the blender, added some milk and turned it on. In a few moments she was done and returned with the shake.

"Here you go." She put down a napkin and placed the shake on top of it. "So do you know what you'd like to eat?" She pulled a pad of paper out of the back pocket of her jeans and a pen from her ponytail. He looked at the menu.

"Honestly I have no idea what I'd like to eat. Any recommendations?" She got a thoughtful look on her face.

"Well, I think I'm going to have to go with waffles just because that word is really cool. I mean come on say it with me, waffles. Isn't that just a fun word? But if you don't feel like breakfast the nachos are pretty good too. Add some chicken or beef and, my goodness; you're in a heaven. Though I do rather enjoy just a grilled chicken sandwich now and then. Or the chili cheese fries. Breakfast tacos are pretty great as well." He was amazed at how long she could babble on about food. He noticed her smile. He thought it was perfect. " So what sounds good?"

"I'm sorry, this is really off the subject of food, but what's your name?" She burst out laughing.

"I'm Haley."

"Haley, I'm Nathan. Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand and the two shook.


	2. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This chapter is kinda short. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with this story so just bear with me. Please read and review and let me know what you think.

Chapter 1

Haley leaned on the counter trying to stay awake. It was a slow night and she was having trouble not falling asleep. She had ran some errands that day and hadn't been able to sleep as long as she usually did. Her thoughts kept drifting back to one customer.

His name was Nathan and he had come in about a week ago. It had been another fairly slow night so she had gotten to talk with him for a while. After waiting tables for as long as she had, you knew when someone needed to talk or be left alone. She had found out he had just gotten dumped, hence the visit to a shoddy 24 hour diner. She could sympathize with him and they two had talked for a good three hours before he had to leave. Haley was busy when he left but when she went over to clean up his space she had found three $100 bills on the counter. Needless to say she was shocked and happy. It had made her rent and she was going to actually have some extra money this month to do with what she pleased.

Her thoughts were interrupted with the bells above the door ringing and she was happy for the interruption. "Hi welcome to Oven-"

"Hey Haley."

"Hey stranger. Didn't expect to see you in here." Nathan had returned, probably to get his $300 too, Haley thought. He probably realized what he had done and was now back to get it.

"Well I hear you guys have the best chocolate milk shakes." Haley beamed at the complement. She always liked to be acknowledged for her hard work.

"Well yes we do. Can I get one for you?" Nathan nodded and Haley left to go make it. He looked around the place and noticed it hadn't changed any in the week since he'd been there, not that he expected it to. He hadn't expected to come back, but something about this place drew him in. Maybe Haley put something in his milkshake or maybe it was just her. One thing he did know though, talking with Haley last week had been more fun than sitting around moping in his apartment.

At that point Haley came back and put the milkshake down. In her head she made a mental note not to say anything about the money. Hopefully if she didn't say anything neither would he. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Nathan took a sip of it and the two stared at each other awkwardly for a minute or so. "So thanks for talking with me last week. It really helped a lot."

"No problem, that's what I'm paid to do."

"So you're a waitress and a therapist I see."

"What can I say? After spending years of school becoming a psychiatrist I decided I'd rather give out help for free as the graveyard waitress in a shitty little diner." Nathan laughed.

"You're funny."

"I try. So what's the problem tonight? Drug addiction, you don't know who your baby's daddy is, or did you find out you have 24 hours to live?"

"None of the above. I really have no idea why I'm back. I think I came to see you. So last week I talked and you listened, this week it's your turn." Haley blushed.

"There's really not much to say. I'm 23, single, work the graveyard shift, and play the guitar. I'm from Midland, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas."

"So what brings you out here?" Haley hated that question, her answer always sounded so cliché.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"Well, you know how I said I play the guitar?" Nathan nodded. "I came out here to pursue a music career." Instead of laughing Nathan nodded his head.

"So how's that working out?"

"Not so great. In college I lived in Austin, the live music capital of the world. I would play a gig or two here and there but nothing ever happened. So after graduation a friend of mine got a real job in California and said I should come along. Well English majors don't have many job offers thrown their way so I said okay. And here I am, broke with no music career."

"That's cool. It's good that you're trying to do what you love."

"Yeah well, let's not start patting me on the back just yet. So what about you, what's your story? All I got to hear last week was how your girlfriend dumped you." And also to find out what you do for a living that allows you to hand out $300 tips, Haley thought to herself.

Nathan hated to tell people he just met what he did for a living. It had so many preconceived notions with it that they immediately thought one thing or another. "I'm in the sports industry."

"Oh, so are you an agent, manager?"

"Something like that."

"How mysterious of you."

"It's not that. I just don't like talking about work. Work shouldn't define who you are as a person."

"How very deep of you." The two sat around bantering for the rest of the night/morning. Finally at around four a.m. Nathan decided it was late enough and left with promises to return.

"You probably thought I came back to get that tip I left you?" Haley stumbled for a minute. "It's okay, I wanted you to have it. I'm not that big an ass."

"Well now that we're friends, I'll feel bad accepting them."

"Even every once in awhile?"

"Every once in awhile is okay." She responded, she'd have to be an idiot not to take $300 when it was given to her freely.

"Good. Have a good night Haley."

"You too Nathan."


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alright I know I've been absent from here for awhile, but as I've said before I'm in my last semester of school and finals have been kicking my butt. Look for another update on this one and my untitled one sometime tonight or tomorrow. R/R please.**

Chapter 2

Haley and Nathan fell into a routine. Once a week he would come in and eat and they'd talk. The two became friends and looked forward to their weekly visits. One night Nathan came in and could tell Haley was not herself. She didn't greet him with the same big smile; she didn't run over with a hug for him. She looked like her dog had just died. "What's wrong?" Haley just shook her head and Nathan could tell she had been crying earlier. "Seriously Hales, what's wrong?"

"I broke my guitar today."

"That's it? Haley that's nothing to cry over."

"Maybe for you but my guitar is my life and I don't have money for a new one right now. I have a gig in a few days and I can't play without my guitar." Haley put his milkshake down in front of him and went off to take another customer's order. The wheels in Nathan's head began to turn. By the end of his visit a brilliant idea had formed in his head.

**Haley wiped at the counter absentmindedly**. She had gone all over town that day looking for a new guitar and had found nothing. All the one's at the pawnshops were too badly beaten or cost too much. And she knew she couldn't afford a new one, or at least a new one of any quality. Nathan had been in the night before and tried to cheer her up, but nothing worked. She was close to calling the club and telling them she couldn't make it. The bell above the door jingled and Haley looked up and was surprised to see Nathan coming through.

"You were here last night. What're you doing here?" A huge smile was plastered across Nathan's face. It was then that Haley noticed the box in a shape of a guitar in Nathan's hand. "What is that?"

"Well you were so upset and wouldn't take my tip to go buy yourself a new guitar I took it upon myself to get you one." He placed the case up on the counter and pushed it towards Haley. "Go ahead and open it." Haley opened the case and became speechless. She gingerly lifted the guitar out of its case.

"This is a Martin."

"Yeah, the guy at the store said they're the best acoustic guitars."

"You bought me a Martin?"

"Haley don't look so surprised. It's just a guitar. Come on play something for me." Haley looked at Nathan and then back at the guitar. She then placed it back in its case.

"I can't accept this. This is too much. Thank you, but I have to decline."

"Haley stop being stupid. It's a present take it and go play your gig. I'm not going to take it back. I have no use for a guitar. And I already ripped up the receipt so I can't take it back."

"Are you sure? I know how much these cost. It's a lot."

"I swear if you don't stop and just accept it I'm never coming back here again. Haley listen to me. I have no girlfriend, no interest in dating at all, I have a HUGE disposable income and more money then I could ever spend. If have to spend it on someone else. Besides, I know that someday when you're a famous musician you'll pay me back."

Haley quickly thought it over. On the one hand it was a Martin and she had always dreamed of having a nice guitar. On the other, she didn't want to be Nathan's charity case. Finally she caved in and picked it back up out of it's case. She strummed the strings and quickly tuned it.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me." Haley looked at Nathan with such sincerity in her eyes it warmed his heart. It felt good to him to do something nice for someone else. His entire life he had thought about only himself and liked this new feeling of helping others.

"Well go on, play me something." Haley looked around at the empty diner.

"I don't know what to play."

"Play your favorite song. Play the first song you ever learned. I don't care just play something. I want to make sure I'm making a good investment." Haley laughed.

"A good investment? Is that all I am to you?"

"Yeah, you know me, I buy and sell people all the time. Just want to make sure you're better than the last girl I gave a guitar too."

"Ha ha, very funny. Alright, this song is what made me want to learn how to play the guitar. My parents are crazy and listen to the weirdest music. Growing up all we heard were old songs, old folk songs, old rock, whatever. This is 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by the Mamas and the Papas."

Nathan listened as Haley started to play and sing, she was good, she was really good. He wasn't really into the singer/songwriter genre but knew she was amazing. He watched her as she played. You could tell music was her passion. She put her whole soul into it while she was playing. When she finished up Nathan was upset that it was over. He put his hands together and started to clap. Haley blushed and did a quick curtsy.

"Bravo, bravo. That was excellent Haley."

"Thanks." She put the guitar into its case carefully and crossed over to Nathan's side. "Thank you. I'll cherish it forever." She said as she threw her arms around Nathan and engulfed him into a hug. Nathan hugged her back and was really happy for the first time in what seemed like forever.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Haley looked around the crowded club. She was supposed to go on in a half hour and Nathan was nowhere to be seen. He had promised that he would come and watch, but he had yet to show. She had really wanted him to be here. Her friend Emily and her boyfriend Patrick were there, but Haley could really care less. All she wanted was for Nathan to show up. She didn't know why she cared so much; she guessed it was because he had given her the guitar. She wanted to prove to him that he wasn't wrong and that she could play.

After the thirty longest minutes of her life the club manager told Haley it was her turn. Nathan had yet to show up and her heart was crushed. She reluctantly took the stage and tried her best to be happy. As she started to play she looked up and saw a tall figure in the crowd. They lifted up their baseball cap and Haley could tell it was Nathan. Her mood instantly lifted and she put all the emotion and energy she had into playing.

Nathan watched Haley perform and could not believe how good she was. You could tell she was putting her heart and soul into it. The crowd seemed really drawn to her as well and got into it. When Nathan saw Haley up on stage he knew he did the right thing buying her the guitar. As the end of her set came up Nathan was sad to see Haley leave. He went over to the bar in hopes that Haley would be able to find him easier after she came from backstage.

As Haley walked around backstage people kept coming up and congratulating her on the set. The club owner came up and personally asked her to come back whenever she wanted. As much as she loved the praise, Haley wanted to go and see her friends. After she packed up her guitar and checked to make sure it was alright to leave back there till she left she headed down the hallway towards the floor of the club when she ran into something.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry." She apologized profusely. She looked up and into the eyes of a man. He wasn't anything spectacular to look at. He had brown spiky hair and was kinda skinny. He looked the exact opposite of Nathan.

"It's alright, can't blame you." Haley nervously laughed and tried to leave when he started talking to her again. "You're Haley right?"

"Yeah and you are?"

"Chris Keller. I saw you out there tonight. You were pretty good, but not great."

"Thanks I think."

"A little rough around the edges, but with some work you could become decent."

"Okay. Well look it's been nice talking to you, but I have to go meet some people."

"Look I have some studio time coming up. I like your sound and think we could do something with it. Here's my card, call me sometime if you want to come in and jam." Chris handed Haley a card with his name and number on it. They said goodbye and Chris took off down the hall. Haley watched him go still a little dazed. No one had ever invited her to a studio to record before and she didn't quite know what to think about it.

Haley came out from the back and found Emily and Patrick fairly quickly. "Girl you did SOOO good," Emily squealed giving her a hug.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, you were really good Hales. How did it feel to be up there?" Patrick asked her. As Haley gushed about the experience and what the manager had told her, she quickly scanned the crowd looking for Nathan. He was easy to spot out because of his height. Grabbing her friends she pulled them towards Nathan telling them she had someone she wanted them to meet.

"Nathan," Haley yelled as she ran up to him and gave him a hug. Nathan was more than willing to return the gesture and squeezed her back.

"You did so good. Much better than that crap performance back at the café. Seriously if I had known you were that good I would have bought you a guitar much earlier." Haley playfully swatted him and told him to be quiet and that she wanted him to meet her friends.

"Nate, this is my friend Emily and her boyfriend Patrick." The three shook hands and introduced themselves. Patrick looked at Nathan and thought he looked familiar but couldn't quite place it. He knew he had seen Nathan somewhere before but wasn't quite sure where. As Haley told everyone about the set another act took the stage. Haley looked up and saw it was Chris Keller. "That's Chris."

"Who?" Nathan asked.

"Chris Keller. We met backstage. He said he liked my sound and said he'd like to jam sometime together in the studio. Wow, he's really good." Nathan didn't like the way Haley was talking about Chris. He had never met the guy and Haley wasn't his property but he couldn't help but feel protective. He had met a lot of male musicians in his time and knew they were less than trustworthy.

"Oh well that's nice." The four hung out a little bit longer and then Emily and Patrick said they needed to go because Patrick had an early shift at the hospital.

"Haley do you want a ride?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. I just need to get my guitar first." Acting on instinct Nathan offered to take Haley home. He had never seen her apartment and was interested to see what it was like. "Would that be out of the way?" Haley asked. Truth be told she was interested in getting to know Nathan more than on a café level. Every time they spent time together he intrigued her more and more. There was just something about him that drew her towards him.

"No, it's no problem. I don't have much to do tomorrow anyways." The four said goodbye and Haley and Nathan headed backstage to collect her things. After they got her guitar they headed out to the parking lot. When they reached Nathan's car Haley was in shock. She expected to see some flashy expensive luxury car but instead came face to face with an old beat up Honda. She climbed in wondering what was going on.

"You look confused." Nathan stated as they started driving.

"Your car, it's not what I expected you to drive at all." Nathan smiled.

"Yeah. This is just one of my many. I don't really trust this area of town all too much and I just like this car. It reminds me of different things."

"Like what?" Haley was always happy when Nathan would open up to her. From the very first time they had met she could tell that he was a closed off person looking for a friend. Since that time she had tried to be the very best friend she could be to him.

"When I was sixteen I became emancipated from my parents. My mom was never home and when she was she was high off painkillers. My dad was a tyrant, always pushing and pushing me. Finally I had enough and got out. My uncle Keith gave me a chance at his body shop when I need a job even though I had no experience. With him and my brother Lucas we rebuilt this car. Whenever I drive it I'm reminded of them and where I come from."

"That's cool." They got to Haley's apartment soon and Nathan parked the car. "You want to come up?"

"Sure." Nathan was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to see Haley's apartment. Since they'd become friends he had opened up more to her than she had to him. He was interested to see what made the girl who knew him better than anyone else tick.


End file.
